48— 185 I.J 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



♦he discovery. Months passed away, and Mr. Potter 

 aeemed to make no effort towards securing his oppor- 

 JJajty ; when I received a letter from Mr. Lawes, 

 2 ; for information respecting the nodules, I wrote 

 SJnediately to Mr. Potter, and I remember telling him, 

 that as I was n0 speculator myself, and merely regarded 

 |k e question scientifically, I did not feel justified in 

 •folding from Mr. Lawes the information I had 

 given himself. I quite forget whether it was on account 

 of Mr. Potter or Mr. Lawes, that I visited Felixtow ex- 

 pressly to satisfy myself that I was not misleading them 

 irith respect to the abundance of the nodules, and the 

 facility with which they might be procured. I had 

 become acquainted with Mr. Smith there, who was in 

 the habit of collecting iron pyrites on the coast, and I 

 showed him the nodules in the cliff, and enquired at 

 what rate he thought they could be collected. He 

 named 10s. per ton as the probable price, and I believe 

 it was on this information that Mr. Lawes wrote to 

 him for the 2 tons which, as I have stated, he afterwards 

 analysed. Whether this happened previously to Mr. 

 Solly's visiting me in the progress of his enquiries, 

 alluded to in Dr. Buckland's report to the Agricultural 

 Society, I do not recollect ; but certainly Mr. Solly's 

 analyses were undertaken subsequently to that of Mr. 

 Potter ; and I think also subsequently to those of Mr. 

 Lawes. I have not heard from Mr. Potter since I 

 informed him of Mr. Lawes' application, and I have 

 never yet had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Lawes, though 

 we occasionally correspond about agricultural experi- 

 ments. Mr. Browne first suggested to me the proba- 

 bility of these nodules being derived from the London 

 clay, his own judgment being guided by his having seen 

 something of the sort from the London clay at Hamp- 

 stead ; but it was not till shortly after my letter to the 

 Bury Post that I received full confirmation of the 

 correctness of his conjecture, by obtaining phosphate 

 nodules from the London clay in the railway cutting 

 at Colchester, as I stated at the Oxford meeting of 

 the British Association. I will not trespass upon 

 you by allusions to the many interesting analyses 

 that have been made, and the conclusions at which we 

 have now arrived respecting these and other concre- 

 tions of phosphate of lime, my object being to point out 

 the cause which has prevented Dr. Daubeny, Dr. Buck- 

 land, and other inquirers from recognising Air. Potter's 

 analysis as the first positive information we received of 

 the phosphatic character of these nodules. /. S. HensJow, 

 Hitcham, Nov. 20. 



English and American Chums. — The alleged superi- 

 ority of the new American churn over English churns 

 has led to some trials being made, in order to test their 

 comparative merits. The claim put forth in favour of 

 the American churn by its inventor or patentee, is, that 

 it produces butter in from six to 12 minutes, while the 

 English churn is said to require half an hour and up- 

 wards to complete its work. This claim of superiority 

 of the American is stated to arise from the different 

 form of the dasher, and from the means provided, by a 

 hole in the lid, for the admission of a constant supply of 

 fresh air into the churn. It is, however, further set 

 forth as important that the temperature of the cream 

 used should be brought to 60°. There being here three 

 conditions stated as necessary for the conversion of cream 

 into butter, in the shortest possible time, viz., the parti- 

 cular form of dasher, the large supply of fresh air, and the 

 temperature of 60°, it becomes interesting to determine 

 whether the successful result arises from one or other of 

 these conditions, or from the combination of the three. 

 Having this object in view, four trials have been made 

 with an English and an American churn, simultaneously, 

 with cream from the same stock in each respective in- 

 stance. The English churn used was of the ordinary 

 form of square box churn, with the cross dasher of open 

 tars, and the lid fitting close. If filled up to the line of 

 ^xisofthe dasher, it would hold 10 quarts of cream. 

 The American churn, if filled up to the corresponding 

 line, would hold six quarts. The results of the several 

 trials are stated below ; and it will be observed, that in 

 two of them the cream used was divided between the 

 churns, proportionately to their sizes, and in the other 

 two equal measures of cream in each. 



/ 



65 





occupy the long and uncertain time which they have 

 hitherto done in producing butter. Hampttead. 



Farm Accounts. —In the farming account I sent you, 

 you asked if the machinery was credited. It v.n not : 

 but it was not charged ; so that, as it outfit to appear 

 on each side of the account for 1850-51, it would not 

 affect the result. Your other suggt ion, about ( lit 

 being given for new implements, would somewhat 

 modify the loss. The accounts and suggestions I refer 

 to appeared in the Agricultural Qazctie of Oct. 25. I 

 hope next year to send you a more satisfactory balance- 

 sheet. Your correspondent, " E. Hulme," page G.My, in 

 your last Number, would find a wide difference betw 

 his theory and practice. Urban. 



"great or small farm question ; 7 ' or, as the French sar, 



in language much more expreashr*, t h< stion of the 



grandc ou petite culture. Daring the last nine or ten 

 months the Morning ChronkU has contained a se: of 

 very able papers from a special corn -indent, whom 

 the conductors of that paper d spudied to France for 

 the express purpose of iumtiga ng the state of French 

 agriculture. The mission of this correspondent has now 

 been brought to a close ; and in a rerv inter tin* and 

 able paper recent!/ published in *» < ronieU. he hat 

 given a rUmU of his proceedings, and of the conclusion* 

 at which he lias arrived. We can refer to this paper 

 only as far a it bears on the cultivation question The 

 writer seems to be quite satisfied that where the occu- 

 pier or owner of a small patch of land can cultivate if 

 with the spade, a minute divi- n does no harm. He 

 says :—« The rule which strii i me as apply! ; to the 



m: r is this: Where spade-husband r can be legiti- 

 mately adopt . there the extreme sub-division of hmd 



mark out by small prizes the best specimens of grain, loses "j 110 * 1 ' if not a,l > of its evi, «- The reaaon is plain : 

 vegetables, fruit, flowers, roots, needlework, and anv ~ Spade-hiwbMdrjr, while it pays the } >pri< r fair 

 work of ingenuity; also to reward good character in wa ? e *> a l 80,n certain cases d* pea in an economical 



manner the resoumi of the n\. u This testimony is of 

 great importanee. On the general qu f the 



lets positi lie says : 



— " Are small properties, then, in cases in whieh spade- 

 husbandry cannot be economically applied, injurious 

 the social and Industrial interests <»f t) mmui n 



which they exist f 



£oricttc$. 



Eydox Village Industrial Club, October 17. 



Autumnal Show of the Industrial Club recently 

 blished in that village— The object of the Club 



The 



titOr 



is to 



service in young persons under 24 years of age. The 

 I following statement shows how generally a 1 warmly 



the Club is supported by the inhabitants. The popula- 

 tion of the parish is about 620, and at the recent show 

 30 labourers, 27 tradesmen, and a persons of the clues 

 of farmers exhibited 208 lots of articles, some of tli 

 vegetables and roots being very superior. Two Ct um- 

 bers were shown, one being 19 J inches long, the plants 

 from which they- had been cut having produced JM; 

 fruit since the 5th of May last. The following letter 

 was given to each member : 



As we have united ourselves in an Industrial Club, I think 

 it not in any way unbecoming in me, as >our clergymen, find 

 one of rhe original promoter* of our Cub, to take the part in 

 our autumnal show, of addressing a few word^ to you on the 

 cultivation of our land. I am not goin* to put before \< u any 

 new-fangled no ious, oi to recommend any ixperimc i by 

 which yon may very probablj suffer loss; but my otject i* to 



•nor H-efnt , the writer is much 



The following proposition* r4 pj 

 me to sum up what may bo Raid n r it her ride of th* 

 question.— 1 Small landed holdings undoul ilv tend to 

 produce an industr \in popula \ man alwajnworka 



hardest for himself. L\ Small land- mgs It), to 



breed a spirit of ItidcprndeM • and wholesome moral 



self-appreciation and reliance. On the sther hand, 1« 



Small landed holdings, by breedin- a poor and noraat 



race of proprietors, k< p back agriculture, and injur 

 the whole - mmunity of consumer* 



landed holdings tend to ROW 



And, 2. B all 

 smaller than it is the 



&XEZ2SZXZ S5?£2!M:K^i5Sft L n,ere8t *; f l Y ir owncr « ,I: z •!"*"' -?»"•• c^j 



- borrowed at u inous rates of interest is then had 



recourse to for enlarging indmdual properties ; and the 



Date. 



Oct. 7 



Churn. 



Cream used 



'j 



10 



tt 



U 



J* 



17 



English 

 American 



English . 

 American 



English .. 

 American 



English 

 American 



■ » . 



Quarts 

 38 



4 



4 



s 



3 



Time occu- 

 pied. 



Butter pro 

 duced. 



Minutes. 

 8 



12 



5 



7i 



6 

 12 



lbs. ozs. 

 5 15* 



3 d 



3 

 3 



5 

 3 



6 

 4J 



7 

 8 



your han-is. For your inspection, there are three samples 

 straw:— No. 1 is from one of the centre rows ot the t-acre 

 piece of Wheat, cu tivated by the Rev. Samuel Smith, of Lois 

 Weed on, having a row of Wneat 11 inches distant from it on 

 each side. No. 2 is from an outside row, having on one side a 

 rov* of Wheat at 12 inches distance, -ind on the other side a 

 row of Wheat at the distance of 3 feet. Yon will per eive 

 No. 2 to be much stronger, thicker, and firmer, than No. 1. 

 No. 3 is the produce of one grain of corn, grown by William 

 Pipe, of this village, in bis garden in 1845. There are 88 st ms 

 from this one grain. This one corn was put into the ground in 

 his garden by bis wi'e, with no other seed near it; it was 

 carefully cultivated, and, as it tillered, mould was put around 

 and on the crown of it, the etfect of which was to make r 

 throw up additional stems. I do not mean to say that all 

 ! these stems ripened good corn, or that such apian could be 

 followed out in general practice, either in a garden or a hold ; 

 but if you let jour brain industriously medtate on the above 

 facts, and the straw you may now see, you cannot f ;iii of being 

 struck with the aivantageof ?pace. Bui space, if lefcuntouched, 

 will produce weeds, thereby making the land foul, and be 

 injurious to the Wheat crop; Mr. Smith, therefore, of whose 

 small farm ail of you have heard, and some of you have seen, 

 works hi- 3 feet epace as a fallow, digging and turning ft over 

 once during the winter, and by hoeings preventing the growth 

 of weeds in the spring. Ifis principle therefore, o* the foun 

 dation of his plan, is space and fallow. The practice of a 

 fallow is as old as anythiug of which we have record. In the 

 Bible (Leviticus, chap, xxv.), we read that the Israelites were 

 commanded to pive their land rent every seventh year. In 

 every country, however uncivilised or thinly inhabited, all the 

 land is, at certain times, fallowed. In England, so valuable is 

 the restoration of land by fallow considered, that to obtain it, 

 farmers are willing to beat the expense of frequent ploughing*, 

 and the loss of a year's crop, incurring thereby, in expen§e of 

 work done and loss of crop, a cost of not less than 91. or 101. 

 per acre, to be made up by the extra produce of the succeeding 

 crops, till the return of fallow. The great novelty of Mr. 

 Smith's system is that he has hit upon a clever plan of fallowing 

 about half of bis land every year, and so mixing it with his 

 growing crop as to give that the immediate benefit of the 

 fallow. By these means, he makes his cultivated part (ab>u 

 naif the acre), produce about as much as an acre ordinarily 

 does. I am inclined therefore to think that, as Mr. Smith 

 annually restores and cleans his land, without losing a c\ , 

 that his'plan of fallowing is not so expensive as at first sight 

 it may appear; for witn regard to weeds, I believe the truth of 

 the old adage, that prevention is not only better, but. iu the 

 long run, cheaper than cure. Consider then the above facts, 

 whether they do not establish the benefit of space and fallow. 

 Now for a few facts, to call your attention to the beneficent 

 power of the Almighty, in giving such a productive quality to 

 Wheat, the chief tood of man. The 88 stems of No. 3 each 

 produced an ear, some full and good but others not ; average 

 however each at 30 gra ns, and there will be a 2640-fold pro- 

 duce. Mr. Smith, in his published account, has ^ sowed about 



2 pecks per acre, obtaining, in three successive years, an 

 average produce of 34 bushels, or 13(> pecks, being about 

 6 -fold. Last year, however, be sowed about 1 pe to the 

 acre, obtaining a produce in head and tail Wheat, 41 bushel- 



3 pecks, or 167 pecks, being a produce of about 160-fold. Now 

 wnat is the return for seed m common tarmimr ? Usually 

 11 bushels or 3 bushels are sown per acre, and if the average 

 produce be 34 bushel*, it is about 12 fold. In a rich Wheat, 

 growing district in France, the yield was considered the last 

 summer to v be ab >ut 15-fold; if the yield were the san 



2 14 



2 10 



It will be here seen, that in each of these trials (and 

 they are all that have yet been made with these two 

 c hurns, in corresponding conditions) the English churn 

 brought butter in the shorter time. It appears unne- 

 cessary to look further to prove that there is no merit 

 J^hatever in the form of dasher, and the air-vent in the 

 il( i, put forth by the American, as the grand disco veTy. 

 •nfrtling to a patent. In the temperature being at 60 p 

 Jjfi the whole secret, i 



^Bcovery, and is not patentable if it were. If our English 

 Ua irymaids be furnished with thermometers, and in- 



fracted to bring their cream to 60°, by the addition of 

 $P much boiling-water as may be necessary for tbat 



Wpose, they need not seek for American churns, nor 



same in 

 England, the crop would be considered to be heavy j yet we see 

 there is a power iu Whej " ' *" 



li'tle. 



qua! it. - ,- - 



a few days I expect to be in possession of an extraordinary 

 produce from one ear of Barley. I will natation only one more 

 instance of the produce of an acre of ground.cn which Mr. 

 Smith has, this year, by interlining with space and fallow 

 winter Beans and Mangold Wurzel, -obtained of the former 

 7qrs. 4 bushels, with a crop of about, by guess, 12 or 14 tons of 

 Mangold Wurzel. These are facts upon which it would be 

 well tor us industriously to employ our brains. I do not take 

 upon myself to recommend any plan ot cultivation, but we 

 must wonder, and admire the bounty of the Almighty, and con- 



result is, the production of a n* f involved, mortgli !, 

 and frequently bankrupt properties With these situ j ■! 



stated propositions, for which there is th« mj 

 ridenee, I u my leave of ths subject." Ii is only i. r 



to add, that the researches and Writings of the rre- 

 pondent of the mi , whose words we h: e now 



quoted, will certainly form an epoch in the di ssion in 

 this country of the social questions relating to the jref it 

 State of France. Two years a^ . II Blanqui was 

 commis- >ned by tin \e:ulrmy of Moral a Political 

 Sciences to invesli^at<* personally the "situation of tii 

 rural population of France." M. Blanqui has already 

 made several partial reports of his proceedings to the 

 Institute ; a 1 he is described as having made consider- 

 able progress in the regular and official treatise in winch 

 it is his intention to embody the results of his inquiry. 

 Vs some evidence, however, of the effect produ< I in M 

 Blanqui's mind by what he has seen and heard of the 

 p tt cult in Frani , we may quote a sentence from 

 one of the papers which he has laid before the Academy. 

 * It is the division of property — mother of the ) e 

 culture — which has principally contributed to <] lope in 

 the soil of France so rich a variety of productions ; and 

 which alone explains the ardour with which so many new 

 proprietors have lavished on the land the treasures of 

 their intelligence and activity." Afhcnamm. 



Calendar of Operations. 



NOVEMBER. 

 LiMBTEEMna Shesp Faem, Not 22.— Much to the comfort, 

 we doutr not, of all concerned, the sheep bathing was 

 completed by the middle of the month. The jacketing 

 and breaking of the bogg* was alio got through a lew day« 

 ago. For the benefit « the u oitiated, we may *t%te f that 

 the later operation consists Jn sewing * piece of thin linen cl»th 

 over the tails of the ewe hoftrt, or such young ewes as are 

 thought too weak to have lamb*, but which cannot, at the 

 same tirn»» f be conveniently remove! beyond the reach of thf 

 r.'i'n«. at the end Of the Season, these breek* are taken oft* 

 without delay, washed, and Ja'd aside for another year ; their 

 presence, though necessary when tbe hogs wint. r be the 



ewes, being both troublesome and injurious to the wearers, 

 when permitted to remain long on. From * 4 use and won 4 ." 

 the 22d of November has become the fixed day for admitting 

 the ram* to the ewes in this distiict. On gome of the less ex- 

 posed gratings, where crosses with the Leicester are bred, this 

 is done about a fortnight sooner : and as these crosses are 

 generally fhown at the earlier lamb markets, the plan is good, 

 provided there be a sufficient supply of Turnips for the ewes, 

 for some weeks before, and during lambing ; but on the higher 

 grounds, when the spring is late, and the sheep have generally 

 toshiitfor themselves, the middle of April will be found suffi- 

 ciently early for lambs. We never permit the rams to remain 

 out above six or seven weeks, when they are hrought back into 

 some convenient inclosure, and fed upon Turnips, during the 



der of the winter and spring months, as we do not like 



if secret it be, for this is no new 



remain. 



to pee this important division of the stock get into low condition 



wu _ ._ of producing very much more, and at any season. According to the nature of the ground, we 



nowJiuie does man usually make of the extraordinary produ*- ,fi ow between 40 and 50 ewes to each ram. besides keef.mg a 

 tive qualities which the Almighty has bestowed on Wheat. In feW | n reserve in case of accidents. For some time tns 



gbepherds will require to be upon the alert, both to prevent tne 

 strooger sheep mm polising an undue number of ewes ; and 

 as earn ram has his loca y a*sign< d him, to see that they do 

 not wander beyond their proper beat; and that none of me 

 ewes are grazing at any great distance from their lord*, me 

 condition of hill sheep at this se leon being a matter of mnen 

 consequence, we may state, that upon the whole, there i* very 

 :tle cause for anxiety. Terhnp^ n tld b*ve wishe i to h^ve 

 seen the Cheviot hoggs somewhat fuller in fl^h-though it 

 cannot be said that they are below an average in this re-p. L f-~ 

 and as far a* the ewes are concerned, w<» are tatim-d. Much, 

 of course, denends upon the nature ot the coming muter; 

 air lv there' are some ominous sjrmptotns of a severe one, but 

 as the same thtog. are observed every autumn, we pa tient y 

 wait the issue. On the art! part of the ^m. the Ubour 

 eomists in 

 ickness anv»n 



tess that we do not sufficiently take advantage ot it. Tiiere is 

 an old proverb of ■« waste not, want not." If we cannot grow 

 more corn, let ui consider whether we do not waste much 

 which may bring on want Fn m Gierke. Eydon, Daventry, Oc\ 



Miscellaneous 



sue. on the artbfe part ot tne iMrmuir.^u. 

 ploughing Oa'stumve for turnips winch, but or 

 iWsmiIW0 „ u iong the horses, *<>uld nave been finished ere this; 



Small Farm System.— We have h I occasion several "^ ^tmanuretob ^^^^^tlS^^fns '• 



{me* to discus* i* the columns of the At m the , ,vid-ng the joung cattle and a lew ensep suth Turnips . 





